Over the years, I have received lots of emails from people with suggestions, stories, questions and friendly advice about kids and eczema. If you’re one of them, thanks!

I thought I’d write out the whole story in one post, so it all reads in chronological order.

But I must state – that overall – Sean’s eczema is not all THAT BAD. The little guy is happy and healthy, so I ain’t complaining!

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Ever since Sean was a little baby, he always had rashes on his face, back, body, neck and legs.

They started off as dry patches of flaky skin, but when he got stressed or too hot, they would itch. He would scratch them into red scabs, bubbly with swelling and blood. And usually they were concentrated in the folds of his skin, behind knees, and behind ears.

First we tried regular moisturising. And quickly realised NOT to use stuff with perfumes, colour or harsh chemicals.

We also stopped using baby soaps and baby bubble baths, which were too harsh for his skin.

I read that I should avoid using anything with SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) a harsh detergent that usually leads to skin irritation. My goodness, SLS was in EVERYTHING at the supermarket.

I did some research, read lots of arguments for and against – and decided I may as well stick with organic products. So I tried a number of different organic baby herbal soaps and lotions.

I took Sean to my GP, who gave us some steroid cream, to use sparingly. Apparently it thins the skin after a while. Then we tried another prescription cream. And another.

I started to look for a more long term solution. I was still breast feeding at this stage and thought he might be allergic to something I was eating?

Growing up as an Asian person in a Western society, I am the first to admit that I have very little understanding about Chinese traditions.

The mid-autumn festival is the one that boggles me the most.

Apparently our Chinese ancestors gathered family and friends together and celebrated the plentiful summer’s harvest by eating lots of food, eating mooncakes, and carrying lanterns.

For me, it’s just a nice way to theme a dinner party – a few families, a potluck dinner, glowing paper lanterns in the backyard, mooncakes for dessert, then a video for the kids, while the adults chat.

One of the best things about being a stay at home mother, is that you get to see and shape most of your child’s first experiences.

You introduce them to a football, you show them how you kick it, then you stand back and let them have a try.

You see them struggle or triumph, persist or give up, fill with excitement or frustration, joy or anger. You see what their strengths and weaknesses are. What they like and don’t like.

You encourage them, praise them, help them, have fun with them, and you get to teach them other things like skills, rules, the bigger picture of life.

Basically, you help them become the person they are.

And it happens in front of your eyes. Every day. It’s very cool.

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I guess crafting new experiences for your child is all part of nurturing their character.

On the flip side, you don’t want to under-estimate your child’s potential, or be a pushy parent, or be one with deluded expectations. You don’t want to smother your child, hold them back or keep them wrapped up in cotton wool.

There’s a nice fine balance of keeping an open mind, knowing when to push and when to stand back.

There’s wisdom in knowing when to let go.

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And in the process of crafting new experiences, there are the parts where :

They just astound you with their capabilities.

They teach YOU that they are stronger than you think.

Smarter than you think.

More capable of complex thinking than you think.

More emotionally sensitive than you think.

They teach you how to look beyond the present and have a bit of faith.

My husband and I have done, what I think, is a peculiar thing in our household – my children have never seen, or even know what a video or computer game is.

I’m not ANTI video games. I am a strong believer in “everything in moderation”. I know that video games will inevitably be a part of my children’s lives (like TV). But video games are just one more thing I DON’T want the stress of regulating – LIKE TV. For now anyway.

So the other day, my sister came over for dinner and brought her wii.

I thought it might be interesting to see both Callum (4.5yo) and Sean (2.5yo) be COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY by something they have never seen before. So I let the kids stay up to join in the fun.

I told Callum we were going to play tennis on the television.

He went still and his eyes grew as large as plates. I could see what he was thinking – my mother has completely lost her mind.

And he chose his words carefully, full of authority and kindness, “Mum. If we hit a tennis ball at the TV, we’ll break it. We shouldn’t be hitting balls in the house.”

The kids sat and watched us play tennis and bowling. I wondered what they were thinking as we dance around the living room, swinging our arms around like lunatics.

Then it was their turn.

I showed Callum how to do the bowling actions, press buttons, coordinate and time movements. I didn’t actually think he’d GET IT. I thought he’d stamp his feet in frustration and send the handset flying through the television.

But he had about 3 turns, and suddenly he was played like he was BORN WITH THE HANDSET STRAPPED TO HIS WRIST. It was scary and it was astonishing.

I was the one who was blown away.

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I enjoyed this site, wiihaveaproblem.com. A site full of images of smashed televisions, windows, lamps, ceiling fans and animals! An oldie but a goodie!

Usually when our boys have a sleepover, my husband and I indulge in SLEEPING IN. It’s such an opulent luxury. Not just because we get extra sleep.

It’s because we get to wake up AT OUR OWN TIME to the quiet of the morning. We make a simple breakfast, sit in the backyard, listen to the birds sing, and get our heads ready for the day. Ok. I lie. Most times it’s just about getting more sleep.

But on Saturday morning, we thought we’d try something different. We woke up at 6:30am and headed out for a really early breakfast. We sat in our favourite cafe. Cup of tea. Eggs on toast.

My husband is always so brainy and awake in the mornings. Me. I’m an incoherent aching zombie with puffy eyes.

I slowly warmed up. Breakfast was lovely. Chatting to the husband was great.
And most of all, it was amazing to feel alive at 7:30am.